Tag Archives: hawksnest

Elkorn coral is the most likely coral to be found in shallow reefs, where waves cause constant water movement. Unlike most corals the elkhorn is a relatively fast growing species, which under the right conditions can grow as mush as six inches a year. In recent years disease and rising water temperatures has resulted in the degradation elkhorn populations in many areas around the Virgin Islands. The reefs of Hawknest Bay on St. John, however, support beautiful health colonies of elkhorn corals, near shore where they can easily be observed by snorkelers.

The Virgin Islands National Park has been experimenting with a elkhorn coral seeding program to help damaged reefs recover.

With a website to keep customers up to date, a marketing plan that provides a variety of enticements to lure customers, and friendly staff, Love City Car Ferries has come a long way since May 4, 1998, when the Captain Vic made the first trips between Cruz Bay, St. John, and Red Hook, St. Thomas.

On that day and several after, the barge company Boyson Inc. blockaded the ramp at Red Hook to prevent the Captain Vic from offloading vehicles. A Territorial Court case followed, with the judge ruling consistently in favor of the Captain Vic….

… Eventually, Republic Barge Service, which came to be called Love City Car Ferries, worked out a system with the island’s third barge company, Global Marine’s Roanoke barge, to accept each other’s tickets. This has allowed both companies to provide better service….

…The marketing program includes Love City Car Ferries’ loyalty program called Sea Miles Club. Members get notifications of specials and discounts. The company also has a program for passengers older than 65 that provides a $5 discount on tickets no matter what the time of day, and a discount program through Facebook. People who need to travel from St. John to St. Thomas for medical care also are eligible for discounts. Anecia Sewer said that people get a discount on their fare for less serious medical issues, but if it’s something that requires frequent trips like dialysis, the company provides free transport.

“We just believe our company is a company for the people,” Anecia Sewer said….

…The company has its roots in the seafaring tradition forged by many generations. Anecia Sewer said the family name comes from the fact that long ago, ancestors sewed sails on seafaring ships. And Llewelyn Sewer’s grandfather was the legendary Captain Victor Sewer, known by all as Captain Vic. Llewelyn Sewer said he recalls being aboard when his grandfather took Laurance S. Rockefeller out for a trip.

Llewelyn Sewer’s father, known by all as Big Lew Sewer, was the person who dubbed St. John Love City…. Read entire article

ST. THOMAS ­- Gov. John deJongh Jr. on Friday signed into law several bills including a resolution to honor retired Superior Court Judge Julio Brady, a bill funding repairs to Centerline Road on St. John and a bill enabling a dophinarium at Coral World….

… St. John improvements

The governor also approved Bill 30-0275, which appropriates $500,000 to the Public Works Department for the repair of Centerline Road, Route 10, on St. John and another $1 million to the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority for the construction of a waste recycling center and maintenance of the sewer system on St. John.

Both appropriations come out of the St. John Capital Improvement Fund, which the governor warned is overextended.

“Although I am approving this measure, we must be prepared for the adverse impact of this appropriation,” deJongh wrote. “The St. John Capital Improvement Fund is currently overappropriated by $3.9 million and cannot further support any additional appropriations.”… read article

Scattered showers before 8:00 am, then isolated showers after 2:00pm. Sunny, with a high near 88. East wind around 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

St. John’s smallest white sand beach lies on the eastern coast of Hawksnest Bay. The best way to get to this little cove is by sea, although I once made my way down to the beach following a now non-existent rough trail that led from the Northshore Road just a little west of the Peace Hill parking area to the top of the rocks behind the beach. From there it was a relatively easy scramble down to the beach below.

If you arrive by boat you can tie up to the mooring buoys just offshore.

Tiny Cove is a pretty little beach, with soft white sand and good snorkeling along the coast and certainly unique in it’s diminutive size, but then how much beach do yo need?

If you look on the east side of the steep hill going down to Hawksnest Bay you should see an old stone stairway. This was once the entrance to a house that at one time belonged to Laurance Rockefeller. The house eventually became the property of the Virgin Islands National Park and was demolished. Nothing remains.

Today if you climb the staircase you’ll notice a trail leading through the bromiliads that takes you to the ruins of a stone structure that is said to have once belonged to Peter Duurloo, born on the island of Statia in 1675 and died on St. John 1746. I have also seen his name spelled Durloo and Durloe. The three islands, Henley Cay, Ramgoat Cay and Rata Cay are collectively known as the Durloe Cays and were undoubtedly named after him

Peter Durloo was one of the original planters who took possession of parcels of land on St. John when the Danes laid claim to the island in 1716. Durloo took up what is now some prime real estate, Cinnamon Bay and Caneel Bay, which he named for the bay rum trees (Caneel in Dutch) that were so plentiful there.

Charlotte Dean Stark, who wrote Some True Tales and Legends about Caneel Bay Trunk Bay and a Hundred and One Other Places on St. John, had this to say about Mr. Durloo:

“He was a colored man from one of the more southerly islands, probably Satia, where the Dutch were struggling to keep their foothold. It seems likely that most of the Dutch planters in St. Thomas were the colored sons of Hollanders who had been brought up by their fathers to learn the business, whatever it might be. Not many women went out with the original explorers who seized islands in the chain to the south of us.”

The site has been cleared by Jeff Chabot and his volunteers, but is unlikely to stay that way. So if you’re interested in a little history and don’t mind the uphill walk from the Hawksnest parking lot, you may want to pay a visit while the visiting is good.

Just to the west of the popular Hawksnest Beach, lies a much smaller and far less visited stretch of soft coral sand known as Little Hawksnest.

I revisited this little beach yesterday and realized that it has been some time since I had been there. The tide was high and the surf was up (our St. John winter season is just about upon us) and there wasn’t much beach to speak of with waves washing up almost to the vegetation line.

It isn’t always this way and on more normal days one can find a quiet little beach just to the west of the public beach.

To get to Little Hawksnest, you’ll need to walk to the far western end of the public beach, take the trail through the woods that parallels the shore until you get to the rocky coastline separating the two beaches. A relativity easy scramble will bring you to the beach.

Thinking back (all the way to 1972) I remember attending the wedding of Charlie Deyalsingh (Trinidad Charlie) and Cathy Hartford on this very beach, where among other festivities we had a pig roast.

Remember I said relatively easy scramble, but thinking about it, setting up a pig roast on that beach must have been fairly challenging. I guess we all were a lot tougher in those days.